Assumption is not a good thing in life and especially in Airlines customer service. Its not a good thing to assume all plus size passengers are pregnant and asking them for medical certificate without proper verification is mean and embarrassing.
Politeness is important but these days some Airlines customer service staff are not putting professionalism into play when dealing with passenger as a lady was humiliated recently by a Jetstar's ground staff in Australia because of her size.

Out of curiosity, how should a gate agent "properly verify" a pregnancy. I hope they don't start ultrasounding passengers. That along with TSA and airport security would really make travel miserable!

In this case it seems like it was an error on the part of the gate agent. One way or another, at some point someone is going to be asked, are you pregnant when they are not. Others are going to be asked about the number of weeks they are pregnant, even if they are under 28 weeks. Everyone shows differently.

"He just brushed it off as though it was a simple mistake that anyone could make."

I have to disagree with Ms. Hughes, I think it is a surprisingly easy mistake to make. Women come in all shapes and sizes and sometimes it really is hard to tell.

A waitress I once worked with was congratulated by a male customer for her pregnancy. She wasn't pregnant, but the curve of her back gave her stomach a bit of a paunch, so she looked every bit of being early in pregnancy. If I didn't know any better I would have thought so myself.

Same with my sister-in-law. Last time I saw her I would have sworn she was early in pregnancy again. But my brother didn't say anything, so I kept my mouth shut. And a good thing I did. My sister-in-law's stomach just has a paunch now courtesy of her earlier pregnancy.

But I tend to agree with the threadstarter, the gate agent should be held to a higher standard and shouldn't have assumed Ms. Hughes was pregnant.

Scenario 1 - 2012: Large, 21yo passenger, Kelsey Hughes, appears heavily pregnant. At boarding, she is asked by gate agent for a medical certificate before flying. Ms Hughes is not pregnant, merely obese, and feels victimised, sells her story to the press and considers legal action.

Scenario 2 - 2014: Large, 23yo passenger, Kelsey Hughes, appears heavily pregnant. At boarding, gate agent is careful of making a mistake, and does not ask any questions as he is afraid he might be wrong and humiliate this POS. Instead, this time around, Ms Hughes IS pregnant and in her last trimester. Ms Hughes experiences complications with her pregnancy. Ms Hughes feels victimised, blames the airline, sells her story to the press and considers legal action because the airline let her board without establishing whether or not her doctor okayed her to fly.

I applaud the gate agent. As for Ms Hughes - it's your lifestyle choice - live with it.

"Absolutely humiliated"???!!!. Okay, a gate agent thought she was pregnant, but she wasn't. Get over it.
No where in that article does the agent come across rude or offensive, in fact, he even made an apology!

Sounds like she is trying to play some sort of humiliation compensation card over here.

"Absolutely humiliated"???!!!. Okay, a gate agent thought she was pregnant, but she wasn't. Get over it.
No where in that article does the agent come across rude or offensive, in fact, he even made an apology!

Sounds like she is trying to play some sort of humiliation compensation card over here.

Quoting B595 (Reply 10):There's a third scenario... where the gate agent neither assumes the woman is pregnant nor ignores the possibility that she is. Rather, he simply asks her tactfully, "Ms. are you pregnant"?

If only he'd asked that question, rather than assuming she was, Ms. Hughes wouldn't have any room to make an argument in the media

"Absolutely humiliated"???!!!. Okay, a gate agent thought she was pregnant, but she wasn't. Get over it.
No where in that article does the agent come across rude or offensive, in fact, he even made an apology!

Sounds like she is trying to play some sort of humiliation compensation card over here.

Exactly.

Quoting cam747 (Reply 9):I always take articles like this with a grain of salt as passengers tend to exaggerate these situations. The gate agent apologised - what more does she want, a free round the world ticket??

Maybe she wanted - to be pregnant?

Quoting B595 (Reply 10):There's a third scenario... where the gate agent neither assumes the woman is pregnant nor ignores the possibility that she is. Rather, he simply asks her tactfully, "Ms. are you pregnant"?

If only he'd asked that question, rather than assuming she was, Ms. Hughes wouldn't have any room to make an argument in the media

Quoting gardermoen (Reply 7):"Absolutely humiliated"???!!!. Okay, a gate agent thought she was pregnant, but she wasn't. Get over it.

Get over it? Are you for real? Wouldn't you be humiliated/upset if someone presumed you (obviously if your a female) or your wife was expecting because you look like you are due to your size? Lots of women can't help their weight/body size especially if your already a mother.

Quoting B595 (Reply 10):There's a third scenario... where the gate agent neither assumes the woman is pregnant nor ignores the possibility that she is. Rather, he simply asks her tactfully, "Ms. are you pregnant"?

Quoting 777ER (Reply 14):Get over it? Are you for real? Wouldn't you be humiliated/upset if someone presumed you (obviously if your a female) or your wife was expecting because you look like you are due to your size? Lots of women can't help their weight/body size especially if your already a mother.

Yes. Get over it. The agent asked a valid question with no offence intended. The question was asked of a female passenger, and as a female, she would , at some point , in the past or future, possibly be subject to being pregnant. What is so "humiliating" about being in a state of pregnancy?

Okay, the agent assumed incorrectly on this occasion, and weight/size can be a touchy subject, however the question was asked in a non-offensive manner, and the agent did offer an apology.
As someone else pointed out, if this woman was so "absolutely humiliated" by being accused of being pregnant, why did she go to the media about this? Oh, to get a freebie from Jetstar, that's why. If I was Jetstar, I would have given her nothing.

"Absolutely humiliated"???!!!. Okay, a gate agent thought she was pregnant, but she wasn't. Get over it.
No where in that article does the agent come across rude or offensive, in fact, he even made an apology!

Sounds like she is trying to play some sort of humiliation compensation card over here.

If she was really humiliated then she would have kept quiet, I guess the gate agent will need to learn some more tact next time.

$100 credit voucher from Jetstar, so that means they have to fly Jetstar again.

It happens. A female friend of mine offered to give her seat up on a bus recently. She said: "Here ma'am. Take my seat. You need it more than I do." Thinking the lady was pregnant.
My friend was very embarrassed when she found out the lady was not pregnant.
We don't know the whole story. Perhaps the flight attendant was also embarrassed. But he had a job to do, so he had to get back to it immediately, which he did instead of hand-holding and delaying the flight.
It's an honest mistake. Get over yourself, lady, and get on with life.
Cheers,
AY104

I applaud the agent.. Its better to ask, and not need. then need and be up Sh9T creek without a paddle.. Lets say she was due SOON. Be some nice info for the crew to know about. I've had to ask before and the pax said, "no. I was x months ago" and another said, "NO... Why would you EVER think that". I explained to her and she went.. "well, I can see that being helpful, but no.. I am not" Her BF was RELIEVED!! LOL

And...

Quoting cam747 (Reply 9):
You have to wonder about her motivations. If she's so "Absolutely humiliated about the situation", I wouldn't have thought going to a newspaper is on your list things to do.

Yup.. Why get the world involved if you're so horribly humiliated. Now you just have an entire nation looking at you like WHO CARES... GO walk a few blocks. Give up soda. OH please let that attitude move to that stupid "honey boo-boo". What a train wreck that is TV. South Park did it justice last week!

You must never have asked a woman who, isn't pregnant, that question before.

When I was ten my dad asked a friend of my mom's when she was due, the woman wasn't pregnant. My dad didn't hear the end of it for a while and I learned to never ask that question. I have known other guys who have done something like that and the results weren't good.

Quoting art (Reply 26): So POS is a three syllable abbreviation of a single syllable word!

Technically, it is the politically correct word, replacing the not politically correct single syllable word.

A few months ago, a heard one of our agents say discreetly, "Yes, we have a Fresno passenger, I am just making sure there is room beside him". .... I was half way to ZRH before it dawned on me what she meant .... brilliant!

Is pregnancy really an issue? I have seen may fat women who are pregnant but you cannot tell. I have watched shows where fat women go to the hospital with stomach pain only to find out then and there that they are pregnant and going into labor! So if a woman is fat, pregnant, or both do they have to use 2 seats or what? They cannot be thrown in the hold.

I don't believe she should get over it. Should a person who gets bullied over something thats not their fault "get over it"?

The agent handled this totally in the wrong way. Was it too hard for him to quietly pull her aside with the excuse of somethings wrong with her booking and quietly ask her in private? From the looks of it this agent needs a good telling off and sent back to PR school

Actually, there is a way around it, and it's similar to what's being used by bars and stores that sell cigarettes based on age; ask every woman if she's pregnant. Then, nobody is being singled out and nobody can complain about being embarrassed.

It's impossible to tell most women are pregnant in the first few months so asking everybody is not just good PR and PC, it's also the most thorough.

Quoting Tbone354 (Reply 28):Is pregnancy really an issue? I have seen may fat women who are pregnant but you cannot tell. I have watched shows where fat women go to the hospital with stomach pain only to find out then and there that they are pregnant and going into labor! So if a woman is fat, pregnant, or both do they have to use 2 seats or what? They cannot be thrown in the hold.

They're worried about liability and diversions for unexpected labor, probably. It's safe to have a policy that dictates that women should ensure they're safe to fly while pregnant.

On the other hand, I think it's bizarrely stupid for a gate agent to worry about enforcing this policy. What possible good can come of asking? Just about nothing. Say she was pregnant, totally healthy, but didn't have a doctor's letter-- you really want to kick off a paying, ticketed customer for not satisfying some lawyerly annoyance? No, you don't. So don't ask!

Quoting RyanairGuru (Reply 32):On the other hand, I think it's bizarrely stupid for a gate agent to worry about enforcing this policy. What possible good can come of asking? Just about nothing. Say she was pregnant, totally healthy, but didn't have a doctor's letter-- you really want to kick off a paying, ticketed customer for not satisfying some lawyerly annoyance? No, you don't. So don't ask!

Unfortunately Jetstar has a strict policy that any pregnant woman 28+ weeks requires a medical certificate to fly. There have been a number of recent cases when they have kicked women off flights in New Zealand because of this rule. Sadly like many LCC they see this as yet another "valid reason" to deny boarding and then expect the pax to buy another fare ...

Thankfully NZ are much more relaxed about the whole business and requires nothing for flights of up to 5 hours right up to 36 weeks. For goodness sake, it's domestic in a small country and the longest scheduled flight is 2 hours.

Yes it can be done and it can be done very quickly, infact it wouldn't take more then 45 seconds. Its just like after having your ticket scanned at the gate and a gate agent quickly runs after you, pulls you aside quietly and asks a quick question.

Quoting falstaff (Reply 25):If you ask a woman that question she will assume you think she looks fat. It is worse than answering yes to the "do these jeans make me look fat" question.

I would agree 100% with what you say..... if the man and woman are in a personal relationship or in some other social circumstance. But in this case they weren't. This was a business transaction where it was his duty to ask her as part of airline policy.

Quoting gardermoen (Reply 18):Person of Size. Airline speak for fat. It's a bit weird as every person has size, but there you go. Less insulting to us fatties.

I am a fatty as the above post states and weigh 102 kgs..however i easily fit into my seat confines and dont bother others,more interestingly i travel business or (First) as its called in the US. At Lax a couple of months back the lady at the gate asked me albeit with a smile hope youve got yourself two seats mista as its a long flight..now i could have taken that sentence in a lot of different ways...i just thought,this lady must have had a bad morning just let it be and smiled back..when she realised my seat was 1A she started apologising saying it was meant as a joke, now was it??

anyway getting back to the post this girl should get a life and nott go for cheap publicity shes been punished already by getting a voucher to fly jetstar again anyway right?

Quoting deconz (Reply 34):Unfortunately Jetstar has a strict policy that any pregnant woman 28+ weeks requires a medical certificate to fly. There have been a number of recent cases when they have kicked women off flights in New Zealand because of this rule. Sadly like many LCC they see this as yet another "valid reason" to deny boarding and then expect the pax to buy another fare ...

Its a Qantas group policy, Virgin Australia also has exactly the same policy. With EK, and QR having very similar policies. I believe PR is even tougher.

Funnily enough I was asked by JQ in SIN if I was pregnant because they were putting me in the emergency exit row. I might be a little chubby, but certainly not obese. I wasn't offended (bemused maybe) because they were just doing their job, as even some advanced pregnancies don't show a big bump so I suppose they have to ask everyone (female).

Quoting aerdingus (Reply 42):Funnily enough I was asked by JQ in SIN if I was pregnant because they were putting me in the emergency exit row. I might be a little chubby, but certainly not obese. I wasn't offended (bemused maybe)

now thats the spirit

the sad part is airlines still have to end up feeling guilty for things like this by offering vouchers/upgrades etc.

believe me am not a fan of most airlinr policies ,i think they stink ,but people behaving like this in an already stressful environment(which airports have become unfortunately) should not be rewarded

She was humiliated simply by being asked if she's pregnant? She is obviously a lady who has an issue with her size if she was suspected of being pregnant so I don't see how bringing attention to the issue should cause such humiliation. Yes, I'd probably be embarassed slightly but "humiliated" and seeking compensation no way. Heck, I've seen grown men who I can honestly say look like their 7-8 months pregnant and I'm not joking so it's very much possible for woman with a large abdominal section to raise suspicion.

Quoting JAGflyer (Reply 44):She was humiliated simply by being asked if she's pregnant? She is obviously a lady who has an issue with her size if she was suspected of being pregnant so I don't see how bringing attention to the issue should cause such humiliation. Yes, I'd probably be embarassed slightly but "humiliated" and seeking compensation no way. Heck, I've seen grown men who I can honestly say look like their 7-8 months pregnant and I'm not joking so it's very much possible for woman with a large abdominal section to raise suspicion.

did you read the link? She weighs 70 kg (150 lbs) and from the pix supplied does not look 28 weeks pregnant. Anyway, she was not "asked if she was pregnant" ... it was ASSUMED she was!!!

If only he'd asked that question, rather than assuming she was, Ms. Hughes wouldn't have any room to make an argument in the media

You don't know much about women - The first thing that will go through her mind will.....how dare he ask if I am pregnant, do I look like I'm Pregnant..why are those people looking at me.....they all think I am huge....I have never been so humiliated...